Shah to launch 'Vibrant Villages Programme' along LAC in Arunachal

New Delhi, April 8

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh beginning April 10 for the launch of the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement today.

About the scheme

• Under the Vibrant Villages Programme, 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts along the northern border in Arunachal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal and Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development
• In the first phase, 662 villages, including 455 in Arunachal Pradesh, have been identified for priority coverage

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has approved the VVP at a cost of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the 2022-23 to 2025-26 financial years.

“The VVP will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage them to stay at their native locations, thereby reversing outmigration and adding to the security of the border,” the statement read. “The district administration, with the help of appropriate mechanisms at the block and panchayat levels, will prepare action plans for the identified villages to ensure 100 per cent saturation of central and state schemes,” it said.

The focus areas of intervention identified for the development of villages include road connectivity, drinking water, electricity, mobile and Internet connectivity, tourist centres, multi-purpose centres and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centres, the MHA said. Shah, in his first visit to Arunachal as HM, will on April 10 inaugurate nine micro-hydel projects under the “Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme” in Kibithoo.